Super Short Summary

The Alexandria Quartet by Lawrence Durrell is a sequence of four novels published from 1957 to 1960, set in Egypt before and during World War II. The narrative, largely focusing on L.G. Darley, explores his relationships amid Alexandria’s expatriate and local communities, presenting events through varying perspectives and concluding with a retrospective. The central theme questions the endurance of love considering the complexities and variances in human relationships over time. Sensitive topics include a hate crime related to sexual identity and a depiction of childhood sexual trauma.